Chapter 21, the ninth update!
Chapter 21
Ye Xiren clutched her neck and sat up abruptly, breathing rapidly, her face filled with terror.
She's dead again!
She died from an arrow piercing her throat. More than the pain, what left a deeper impression on her was the fear brought by that arrow, and the coldness and oppression in those upturned eyes. Just thinking about it makes one's scalp tingle and tingle.
Ye Xiren grabbed her wrist and asked anxiously, "What's the date today?"
Xuechan, holding the basin, replied blankly, "Today is the third day of the third lunar month."
Ye Xiren's heart sank at first, then she was overjoyed. She had been determined to assassinate Chi Zhan Lan Ce, but she was killed as soon as she left the imperial prison. Her mission was thwarted before it even began...
But she came back to life!
Ye Xiren almost cried tears of joy. This was wonderful! If this wasn't her last chance to be reborn, then she still had a chance. She could even use each rebirth to do more, instead of having to fight to the death and have her fate sealed.
As for death...
You get used to dying, dying, dying, dying.
Ye Xiren took a deep breath to regulate her breathing, then lowered her hand from her neck and smiled, "Quick, Xuechan, help me get dressed, I want to go out."
She wanted to see Yan Danqing again, not only to retrieve the blood letter, but also because since there was a chance to start over, why not come up with a more comprehensive solution? Ye Xiren wanted to kill the Crown Prince of Northern Yan, Chizhan Lance, but she also wanted to save General Yan.
If Yan Danqing could come out and take charge of the Yan family army, wouldn't the Great Liang have a better chance of winning?
Although they had only met once, Ye Xiren did not want such a person to die with a bad reputation. Even if he died, he should die on the battlefield to defend his country, not in the midst of conspiracies and schemes.
Ye Xiren then thought of Chi Zhanlan Ce.
This person appeared to be preparing to negotiate peace with Daliang and maintain good relations between the two countries, but in reality, he had been keeping a close eye on General Yan. When Lu Qian simply took her to the imperial prison to see Yan Danqing, this person acted without regard for anything else, killing both Lu Qian and her without asking any questions.
These actions of preferring to kill the innocent rather than let the guilty go free only demonstrate his determination on this trip. Ye Xiren did not believe that he would suffer no loss after killing her and Lu Qian, the commander of the Imperial City Guard.
Lu Qianke was a spy for Northern Yan and was crucial to Northern Yan's future plans. He was considered one of their "own people," yet Chi Zhanlan still killed him without mercy.
This guy is ruthless!
He usually appears ethereal and otherworldly, like a banished immortal. Everyone says he is gentle and polite, and he even apologizes to an ordinary woman who was involved in a car accident... But in reality, he is deep-thinking and extremely ruthless. On the contrary, the truly noble General Yan is as pure as the bright moon. However, he is described by others as someone whose achievements overshadow his master and who is arrogant and domineering. It's quite a pity.
Ye Xiren exhaled and hurried along, but as she stepped out the door, she suddenly stopped. It was still dark, and the night breeze was blowing gently. She fell into thought.
Outside the imperial prison, Chi Zhanlan was waiting.
Before going...
There's something I need to do first.
-
Imperial City Guard, Imperial Prison.
Lu Qian held the knife in his right hand against the person imprisoned inside, his face contorted with rage, gritting his teeth: "I really hate the way you look, Yan Danqing, you will surely die today."
Yan Danqing: "..."
Here we go again; I've heard this so many times.
Judging by the timeline, Miss Ye had just been released from prison when she was gone...
"Let's see if you'll still be this fearless gentleman when you're beheaded!" Lu Qian turned around angrily, carrying the lantern.
Yan Danqing ignored him and brushed aside the straw on the ground.
【eight】
He has died eight times already.
He frowned slightly, looked up at the entrance, and waited quietly.
He waited for a long time, much later than last time, until he thought no one else would come. Then, footsteps sounded, and a familiar figure appeared from the entrance. She came in carrying a lantern and candlelight, walking hurriedly toward him. Her black skirt swayed, casting heavy shadows.
Yan Danqing's brows relaxed.
Ye Xiren reappeared in the imperial prison. She skillfully lit the candles in the alcove with a lantern, then walked to Yan Danqing, put down her veil, flicked her cloak, and sat down directly on the ground.
“In the spring, my name is Ye Xiren, and I work for the Ministry of Revenue…”
Last time, General Yan chose to believe her after just one meeting. This time, she knows more about the other party and even knows that Yan Danqing's courtesy name is "Chunzhou". She doesn't believe that he won't believe her this time!
Sure enough, as she rambled on and on about her introduction, Yan Danqing watched her patiently, his eyes gentle, and listened attentively.
Half an hour later, they successfully completed all the previous "signals".
Yan Danqing silently took out the blood-written letter, handed it to her, and instructed: "Be careful. Chi Zhanlan Ce may have a backup plan. This person is difficult to deal with. Even if the plan is well-thought-out, you still need to be cautious."
This time, Ye Xiren didn't leave with the blood-written letter. Instead, she looked up at him and said in a voice as clear as gold, "I've come to find a way to save you."
Yan Danqing's expression softened, and he shook his head with a smile: "No need, it's pointless. If Chizhan Lance dies, I'm afraid I won't survive."
There are too many people who want him dead.
"How will we know if we don't try?" Ye Xiren retorted, raising her chin and muttering softly, "What's wrong with trying? It's just a matter of dying a few more times and wasting a chance to be reborn. What if we can still be saved?"
The following words were spoken to himself, and were almost inaudible.
Yan Danqing's ears twitched; he heard it clearly. He replied softly, "His Majesty has already confessed my crime."
Killing Chi Zhanlan Ce only compounded his crimes.
Ye Xiren sat up straight, gripped the iron bars, leaned forward, and stared at him stubbornly with a determined and serious expression: "Then I'll help you clear your name!"
Since he has confessed to his crimes, we should try to clear his name; there's always a way.
We're not in a desperate situation yet, how can we give up?
She spoke with such conviction and self-righteousness that Yan Danqing met her dark, clear eyes and saw the glimmer of hope within them. She had died so many times, yet she remained full of fighting spirit…
Yan Danqing pursed his lips, his Adam's apple bobbing. His bound hands and feet trembled. In the darkness, the candlelight was surprisingly dazzling, making one's heart tremble. The deathly silence had long been broken.
"Let me give it a try." Ye Xiren clenched her fist and emphasized through gritted teeth, "The Crown Prince of Northern Yan is guarding outside the Imperial Prison. His desire to kill you is obvious. We can't let him have his way. He has to die, but you have to live."
Her father's words made a lot of sense. Sometimes, if you can't tell right from wrong, then go against the enemy. Doing the opposite of the enemy is not wrong!
“Okay.” Yan Danqing looked into her eyes and nodded slowly.
He couldn't refuse Ye Xiren like that.
Ye Xiren was delighted to hear this and was about to speak when a rat suddenly darted out from under the straw, startling her so much that she cried out, jumped up from the ground, and retreated.
The fat rat swaggered across the corridor and scurried into another cell, squeaking arrogantly. Ye Xiren felt a chill run down her spine.
"Afraid of mice?" Yan Danqing shifted his position.
Ye Xiren nodded: "I'm a little scared."
She walked back and sat down, letting out a long sigh: "It's not easy for you here either. Being chained up is uncomfortable enough, and then there are rats. The ground is all wet too. I started to feel uncomfortable after sitting here for a while..."
The general who should have been defending his country on the battlefield was imprisoned here for a long time, without even a ray of light.
Upon hearing this, Yan Danqing looked at her sitting on the ground, his fingers twitched, but he ultimately said nothing.
"Our goal is to stop the peace talks and rescue you."
“Stopping the peace talks isn’t too difficult; killing Chizhan Lanze will do the trick. But saving you will be much harder. After killing Chizhan Lanze, you will become a rebel who is trying to stop the peace talks. Therefore, we must prove that there are problems with the Northern Yan peace talks and that you are not a rebel.”
And these two points...
Unfortunately, they are all very difficult to prove.
Yan Danqing looked at her, her gaze growing increasingly complicated. "Do you really believe I'm not a traitor?"
"Of course." Ye Xiren didn't even look up. "How could someone willing to sacrifice their life for the Great Liang be a traitor?"
The last time he was here, he was on the verge of death, yet he was still thinking about how to appease the Yan family army, how to ensure the victory of the Great Liang, and how to preserve the country. If such a person is a "traitor"...
That means there's something wrong with this country, and it should be reversed!
Yan Danqing remained silent for a long time.
Ye Xiren then asked, "What exactly happened with those crimes you committed?"
“Chi Zhanlan is very good at winning people’s hearts. I only raised the Yan family army to fight against Northern Yan last year. Before that, Northern Yan was invincible. Along the way from the Northern Capital to the Southern Capital, countless people were already restless and did not believe that my Great Liang still had a chance of winning.”
Yan Danqing did not hesitate and revealed the truth bit by bit:
“The Huai’an Canal is of paramount importance. Despite winning several battles in a row, I was still unable to leave the Huai’an Canal to repel the Northern Yan army because all the officials near the Huai’an Canal had defected to the Northern Yan. They could not be controlled or brought back, and they would only leak military information.”
"So, the officials you slaughtered were traitors?" Ye Xiren was shocked.
Rumors circulated that Yan Danqing had slaughtered all the officials near the Huai'an Canal, displaying extreme ruthlessness. But the truth turned out to be that without exception, all of these officials were traitors!
Yan Danqing's eyes turned cold, and those eyes that she had previously thought were incredibly gentle were now filled with sharpness and murderous intent. "When Chi Zhanlan Ce colluded with Huai'an Qu, those officials who refused to comply have long been replaced!"
The entire area around Huai'an Canal has surrendered to the Northern Yan, and there isn't a single good official left.
“In chaotic times, harsh measures are necessary. I must kill everyone to completely quell the situation near the Huai’an Canal. I need to drive out the Yan dogs and establish a stable rear area.”
Yan Danqing took a deep breath, the candlelight flickering, and continued under Ye Xiren's horrified gaze:
"As for massacring refugees... there was a problem with that batch of military rations; it was all river sand. The Huai'an Canal was extremely short of food, and the little bit of food left wouldn't last long. I requested grain from the court while sending people out to find more. Although I tried to block the news, the Northern Yan army knew everything."
"The Great Liang was in chaos due to war, and the people were suffering. Countless people were so hungry that they ate tree bark and clay. They needed food to survive. Chi Zhanlan Ce spread the word that a large amount of military rations had arrived at the front line and that there was grain in the Huai'an Canal. People who came would have food to eat. Countless refugees flocked to the Huai'an Canal. I did not massacre the refugees, but I did create the illusion of massacring them and spread the word."
He himself spread the news of the massacre of refugees!
Ye Xiren gasped.
There was hardly any grain in the Huai'an Canal. To maintain morale, General Yan dared not let the soldiers at the front know, but Chi Zhanlan Ce knew perfectly well. The false information he spread caused all the refugees to flock to the Huai'an Canal. With so many people, where would they find any grain?!
Even if Ye Xiren didn't understand warfare, she knew that if the refugees who had struggled to reach the Huai'an Canal had no food, how could the Huai'an Canal remain stable?
Let alone launching an attack, even defending the city will become difficult!
Yan Danqing was forced to spread the news of "massacring refugees." He used this method to stop the refugees from flocking to the Huai'an Canal and thwarted another of Chizhan Lance's conspiracies, but it also became one of his death warrants.
If Northern Yan truly wanted peace talks, why would Chi Zhanlan Ce have gone through so much trouble?
What happened next became clear: Yan Danqing could not change the court's decision, so he led a raid to intercept and kill Chi Zhanlan Ce, but was betrayed by Lu Qian and others and was imprisoned.
Ye Xiren pursed her lips, somewhat annoyed, "Why are there so many people holding us back?"
It's not easy to find a capable general, but then so many things happen. If we had just let Yan Danqing fight, things wouldn't have come to this.
They're all traitors!
Yan Danqing shook his head:
"The Great Liang... has been in chaos for too long."
Emperor Xianzong of Liang was incompetent and ruined the Great Liang during his reign, leaving behind a mess. He died quickly and was succeeded by a young emperor who allowed a treacherous minister to control the government. Years of war had ravaged the Great Liang beyond recognition by the Northern Yan.
The new emperor has only been on the throne for a short time. How could this dynasty, which is full of rotten elements, be completely renewed immediately?
The straw stalks fell from Ye Xiren's hand, and she let out a long sigh:
"How can I make the Emperor believe you? He seems to trust Minister Jiang more than you, and Minister Jiang is clearly not a good person!"
General Yan sent letter after letter, each one urgent, but they were all intercepted and none reached the Emperor. The person who intercepted them was most likely Prime Minister Jiang. He was no good for doing such a thing.
“We don’t know where those letters are. If we could find them…” Ye Xiren said, then lowered her head dejectedly. “Since he intercepted your letters, he couldn’t possibly still have them to help you overturn the verdict.”
Is there any way to clear my name today?
Even just a little bit would be nice.
Seeing her dejected expression, Yan Danqing lowered his eyes, thought seriously for a moment, and then said:
“An urgent message delivered over 800 li is a huge commotion. If it was intercepted before reaching the Emperor, it’s impossible that Minister Ye and his men didn’t receive any news. You mentioned the rumors that ‘His Majesty ordered me to submit a petition, but I have received no response.’ That can only mean…”
Ye Xiren's eyes widened as she replied, "We were intercepted before we even entered the city!"
“When I sent the first secret letter, Jiang You couldn’t possibly know the exact time, let alone tamper with the post station. So, the first urgent letter was delivered to Jiang You, and he intercepted it. The next five secret letters were also intercepted before they even reached Nanjing.”
Yan Danqing looked at her, the firelight illuminating his handsome features, bringing a touch of earthly charm; his eyes were full of seriousness.
“There are countless post stations of all sizes along the route from Nandu to Huai’an Canal, one every twenty or thirty li. Some are under my jurisdiction, and some are under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. It is impossible for Jiang You to kill all the people at the post stations and erase all traces.”
Ye Xiren sighed inwardly, then understood the meaning behind the words, and her eyes lit up.
She clapped her hands almost immediately, excitedly saying, "So, the post station might have evidence that you sent back the urgent letter? General Yan, is the nearest post station to Nandu far?"
“It’s only twenty li, and a round trip will take no more than an hour.” When Yan Danqing gave his answer, he already knew what the person in front of him was going to do.
Ye Xiren's eyes indeed grew brighter and brighter, showing signs of eagerness.
Just then, footsteps sounded, and Lu Qian's voice, suppressing his anger, drifted over from afar: "Are you done yet?"
Ye Xiren hurriedly said to Yan Danqing:
"Wait for me a moment, I'll go check on the post station first."
As soon as she finished speaking, she stood up, took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and quickly slammed herself against the hard stone wall next to her!
"Bang!"
Yan Danqing: "..."
-
Ta-da!
Later than the previous "today," clear footsteps broke the silence of the darkness from inside the secret passage.
"General Yan, great news! Incredible good news!"
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Author's Note: First update!
Red envelopes will be given away in the comments! Thank you all for your support!! Love you all!
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